I still get goosebumps thinking about that unforgettable moment at the 1974 Charlotte 500—when Marty Robbins didn’t hesitate to put someone else’s life ahead of his own. With Richard Childress’s car stalled helplessly across the track, Marty made a split-second decision that could’ve cost him everything. Instead of risking a deadly collision, he veered hard and slammed his own car into the wall. The crash left him with broken ribs, a fractured tailbone, and 32 stitches—but what he said afterward still echoes louder than the roar of any engine: “I was just glad Richard was okay.” That kind of courage—quiet, instinctive, and full of heart—isn’t just rare on the racetrack. It’s the same spirit he poured into songs like “Big Iron”—where a lone figure stands tall in the face of danger, not for glory, but because it’s the right thing to do. That was Marty Robbins. A hero, on and off the track.

Introduction: “Big Iron” by Marty Robbins: A Western Ballad That Stands the Test of Time...